Gabe Landeskog joins “You Can Play” project

Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog today became the latest professional athlete to speak on behalf of the You Can Play Project, and in doing so, the National Hockey League has become the first professional sports league in North America to have each of its member teams represented by players voicing support for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) athletes and fans.

“Having full and, more importantly, ongoing participation from the NHL, is a milestone for acceptance of all athletes at every level of play and sport,” said You Can Play executive director Wade Davis. “Every major men’s sports league has been represented in a You Can Play video and now every team in one of the world’s premier sports leagues has actively participated. This support from professional leagues has a positive impact in locker rooms and anywhere sports are played.”

“Young athletes everywhere look up to National Hockey League players as leaders on inclusion,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “Our players, our Clubs and every member of the NHL family will strive to support important initiatives such as You Can Play in our local communities and around the world.”
Landeskog, the Avs’ 21-year-old team captain and current NHL Rookie of the Year, was named to the Swedish Olympic hockey team this week. He appears in a video filmed with players from Mountain Vista High School (Highlands Ranch) and Regis Jesuit High School (Aurora) as part of the Colorado High School Activities Association’s (CHSAA) “You Can Play, Colorado!” initiative. “You Can Play, Colorado!” is part of CHSAA’s Positive Leadership program, designed to promote diversity and inclusion while lessening bullying in sports and student activities.

The Landeskog video marks the first time a pro player has teamed with high school athletes in a You Can Play video. Dozens of players representing the NHL, Major League Soccer, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, National Football League and a number of minor leagues and college teams have made videos in support of You Can Play.

“Sports are better when the best player, gay or straight, is free to contribute without fear or harassment,” said You Can Play co-founder Brian Kitts. “You Can Play is tremendously grateful to Gabe Landeskog, Mountain Vista and Regis Jesuit – they represent a new era of teamwork, fairness and equality in sports.”

The Landeskog video marks the first time a pro player has teamed with high school athletes in a You Can Play video. Other high school athletes will be featured in CHSAA’s “You Can Play, Colorado!” videos with the Denver Nuggets (National Basketball Association), Colorado Rapids (Major League Soccer), and Denver Cutthroats (Central Hockey League). Also participating in the CHSAA project are the Colorado Mammoth (National Lacrosse League), Denver Outlaws (Major League Lacrosse), Colorado College and the University of Denver.

“Sports are better when the best player, gay or straight, is free to contribute without fear or harassment,” said You Can Play co-founder Brian Kitts. “Gabe’s leadership and that of these student-athletes, represent a new era of teamwork, fairness and equality in sports.”
“Change is taking place at a grassroots level,” said You Can Play president Patrick Burke. “High school student-athletes are now partners with professional players in making important social change both on and off the field, the ice and the court.”

“You Can Play, Colorado!” features a You Can Play video contest open to all Colorado high schools, teams and student activities, as well as messaging and curriculum for coaches and student leaders. Denver’s East High School student athletes and student council are featured in the program’s launch videos.
You Can Play is a Denver-based non-profit organization dedicated to changing the culture of locker rooms and sports venues to include all athletes and fans regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The project honors the life of the late Brendan Burke, the openly gay student manager of the Miami University (Ohio) hockey team and member of the NHL’s Burke family. You Can Play has formal partnerships with the NHL and MLS, as well as a number of Canadian, minor league and NCAA conferences and teams.
The CHSAA “You Can Play, Colorado!” projected is funded, in part, by the Gill Foundation’s Gay & Lesbian Fund.

Good for Gabe and good for the Avalanche for stepping up and being a part of this important conversation.

shaker

And I second that as well!

Jimbotronn

Strange that You Can Play is (according to their web site anyway) based in Denver, yet this makes it sounds as if the Avs were the last NHL team to join in. Hopefully the other sports leagues will get on board soon too to spread a very worthwhile message.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.